Friday, January 30, 2009

Thank you boyfriend. Thank you skis. You have been consistently taking me to places I never thought I would go. Your consistency and encouragement have gained my trust.

I like sking as much as snowboarding now. I like the hikes that pump my heart as we ascend off the trail. I like the powder that makes me scream as we descend from the top. I like the freedom of moving with both legs.

I like your girth, skis. All that width makes you perform like my snowboard in the powder.

I like your faith, boyfriend. You believing that I can get down double black diamonds and not giving me time to think about the possibility of it until I'm actually doing it.

I'm trying to remember how it all started. I was feeling unsatisfied because my boyfriend and I have season passes at different resorts. The resort where he rides, Alta, doesn't allow snowboards. One thing led to another and I ended up on skis again.

The weather was horrific. In fact, after a couple of runs Aron went in to the lodge because he was freezing. I was determined to remember how to ski so I stayed out to take some runs on my own.

We got off the chairlift and I followed Aron in the direction everyone seemed to be going. He remarked on how ironic it was that we had one of the first chairs because now everyone was passing us. I chose not to let his comment affect me. I understood and it was my first day back on skis in eight years.

Aron stops in a place where we are going to descend. "That looks steep," I say. "Angela, you need to trust me. This is NOT that steep. Everything here is steep!" Aron said. I burst in to tears and told him to, "just go!" and the next thing I know he is gone. . .at the bottom. I know that I need to end up where he is so I start making huge traverses. I'm pissed. Why couldn't he just take me on a nice blue groomer for a warm up?

My anger escalates when he mumbles some excuse like, "I thought you could ski!"

Fortunately, both our attitudes improved as he became more patient and I relaxed a little. By the end of the day I was looking forward to going out again.